VP of Plant Operations

Ready to lead a high-impact manufacturing site for a fast-growing, purpose-driven company? As the VP of Plant Operations for a leading food and pet manufacturing facility, you’ll drive operational strategy, inspire high-performing teams, and deliver best-in-class results across safety, quality, cost, and culture. With full site leadership responsibility, you’ll be a critical player in advancing performance and supporting growth across a portfolio of trusted brands.

In this role, you will:

Lead High-Performing Teams: Inspire and develop a large-scale, cross-functional team across operations, quality, engineering, and logistics.

Drive Operational Excellence: Own plant performance metrics including safety, service, cost, and quality—creating a culture of continuous improvement and accountability.

Shape Long-Term Strategy: Partner with senior leaders to align site goals with broader business strategies, capital investments, and supply chain transformation.

Foster Safety and Quality Culture: Champion people safety and food safety, driving compliance, training, and team engagement.

Serve as the Site Ambassador: Represent the company with pride in the community and build strong cross-functional relationships across the organization.

Key Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Manufacturing, Operations, or a related field; advanced degree preferred.

10+ years of progressive leadership experience in food or pet manufacturing, including union environments.

Deep expertise in lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, and change leadership.

Demonstrated success in leading plant turnarounds or driving performance at large-scale manufacturing sites.

Strong leadership, communication, and talent development capabilities.

This is a rare opportunity to step into a senior leadership role at a pivotal moment of growth and transformation. If you're ready to bring your operational leadership to a highly visible and influential role, we’d love to hear from you.